This invention relates to a print head mounting mechanism for a printer for removably mounting a print head on a carrier of a printer.
Since a print head is one of most consuming parts among various parts composing a printer and consumption thereof has a direct influence on print quality, it often becomes necessary to exchange a print head. Accordingly, it is necessary for a mounting mechanism for a print head to be constructed such that a print head can be mounted on a carrier and exchanged readily.
An exemplary one of conventional mounting mechanisms for a print head will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows general construction of a conventional print head mounting mechanism for mounting a print head 1 of a wire dot printer on a carrier or carriage 2, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the print head 1. The print head 1 is secured to the carrier 2 by means of a plurality of screws 3. However, when the print head 1 is to be secured, the distance t between a platen roll 4 and the print head 1 must be set to a predetermined dimension accurately. Thus, a pair of positioning stoppers 5 for contacting with each other to position the carrier 2 and the print head 1 relative to each other are formed on the carrier 2 and the print head 1, and while the stoppers 5 are held in contact with each other, the screws 3 are tightened to mount the print head 1 at a predetermined location of the carrier 2.
However, such operation of contacting the stoppers 5 with each other is performed by manual operation, and in a step of tightening the screws 3 while holding the stoppers 5 in contact with each other relying upon tact of an operator, the manner in which the stoppers 5 are contacted with each other sometimes varies among different operators. Consequently, the distance t between the platen roll 4 and the print head 1 may not become equal to the predetermined dimension, which may make a cause of deterioration in print quality. Further, there is another drawback that a mounting operation of a print head requires a tool such as a screw driver and besides much time is required for an exchanging operation of the print head 1.